biofuels

GreenSky London bio-fuel plant preparing for lift-off

British Airways says it is on the verge of beginning construction of a $500 million bio-fuels facility that will divert about 500,000 tonnes of waste per year from area landfills and use it to create 50,000 tonnes of sustainable low carbon jet fuel.

Other benefitial outcomes from the building of the facility include the creation of 50,000 tonnes of biodiesel, as well as bionaphtha and renewable power.

The GreenSky London project is being undertaken with US biotech consortium Solena Fuels Corporation.

British Airways has committed to purchasing jet fuel produced by the plant at market prices for the next 10 years. Barclays has also been appointed as advisor to explore the optimal funding through Export Credit Agencies.

A Competitive Letter of Interest has been obtained from one of the Agencies including associated term funding.

The partners aim to have the site operational by 2015.

“We are delighted that the GreenSky London project is getting ever closer to fruition. With world-class technology partners now in place, we are well on our way to making sustainable aviation fuel a reality for British Airways by 2015,” said Keith Williams, chief executive of British Airways.

Robert Do, President and CEO of Solena, added: “Our GreenSky London project will provide clean, sustainable fuels at market competitive prices that will help address British Airways’ sustainability goals.

"The British Airways off-take agreement represents the largest advanced biofuel commitment ever made by an airline and clearly demonstrates the airline’s leadership and vision in achieving its carbon emission reduction targets. We are proud to have created a consortium of world class companies with expertise in the synthetic fuels sector to support our project,” Do said.